BCAA

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are a group of
essential amino acids that includes L-leucine, L-isoleucine and
L-valine. Studies have shown that these amino acids are involved in
protein synthesis.

NPN

Product Code

Size

Per Capsule

Vegetarian

80023609

AOR04278

300 grams

Vegetarian

Supplement Facts

Serving Size: 1 scoop (5 g)

L-Leucine

2500 mg

L-Isoleucine

1250 mg

L-Valine

1250 mg

Non-medicinal ingredients: lecithin.

AOR Guarantees:
that no ingredients not listed on the label have been added to the
product. Contains no wheat, gluten, corn, nuts, dairy, eggs, fish,
shellfish, or animal byproduct.

Adult Dosage: Take 1 scoop (5 g) mixed with water or juice daily before a meal, or as directed by a qualified health care practitioner.

Cautions:
Consult a health care practitioner for use beyond 90 days, if you have
liver or kidney disease, or if you have been instructed to follow a low
protein diet.

Pregnancy/Nursing: Do not use

Source:
Pharmaceutical synthesis

Main Indications:

Muscle recovery and repair

Blood sugar control

Mood

Research

Background Information

What are Branched Chain Amino Acids?

Essential
amino acids must be obtained through the diet; they cannot be made in
the body. Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the most abundant of
the essential amino acids. The BCAA category includes three amino acids:
leucine, isoleucine and valine. BCAAs make up over a third of essential
amino acids in body proteins and about one sixth of the total amino
acids in muscle proteins. Since muscle mass makes up about 40% of human
body weight, BCAAs play a large role in the human body.

Read More

What do they do?

BCAAs
are known to be involved in protein synthesis. BCAAs are unique in that
they are metabolized mainly in the muscle, and more specifically in the
mitochondria, while most other amino acids are metabolized in the
liver. In the mitochondria, BCAAs are oxidized to succinyl-coA and
acetyl-coA, providing two potential entry-points into the Kreb’s cycle
where ATP, or energy, is made. These two substrates are also involved in
other important functions in the body. Research has shown that
ingesting BCAAs prior to exercise may inhibit protein breakdown during
exercise and optimize protein synthesis post-exercise. BCAA plasma
levels peak about 30 minutes after ingestion.

Research

Leucine,
in particular, is the most studied of the three BCAAs since it signals
the synthesis of protein and glycogen in the muscle (anabolism, or
building), and it also appears to modulate the secretion of insulin or
its actions on muscle cells. Glycogen is a quick energy supply for
working muscles. Post-workout glycogen storage has traditionally thought
to be increased only by consuming a good amount of simple carbohydrates
immediately post-exercise. Studies have gotten mixed results when
examining the effect of combining protein or BCAAs with carbohydrates
for elevated post-exercise glycogen synthesis. The more muscle glycogen
stores can be increased, the more energy is available for the next
exercise session, resulting in better performance. In terms of protein
anabolism, the importance of leucine is demonstrated by the fact that
when all amino acids are supplemented except leucine, protein synthesis decreases by 40%!

Read More

Isoleucine
exerts a hypoglycemic effect that has been observed in humans. It
stimulates glucose uptake into the cells and may inhibit glucose
synthesis in the liver. This is good news for those with diabetes!
Isoleucine also appears to signal glucose usage (catabolism, or
breakdown) for energy production in order to spare glycogen and protein
from being used to produce energy. This helps to maintain muscle mass
and basal fuel levels that help with general muscle function.

Valine
may be used to help make glycogen in the liver, thus raising blood
glucose levels. Animal studies suggest that valine may enhance fat
metabolism.

Regulating Blood Sugar

Since
BCAAs seem to have metabolic regulating activities similar to insulin on
proteins, carbs and fats, and in regulating blood glucose, some studies
have examined their effects related to insulin.

Insulin
resistance can be involved in the progression of hepatocellular
carcinoma, a type of liver cancer. One study administered 12g BCAAs with
an ACE inhibitor for 48 months after curative treatment for
hepatocellular carcinoma. Alone, neither treatment was effective in
preventing a recurrence of insulin resistance-based HCC, but together,
after 3 months, insulin resistance was reduced, and a marker for
angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels that feed tumours) was reduced
(VEGFR2).

In untrained males, one study administered a drink
containing BCAAs, arginine and carbs after a single bout of exhaustive
exercise. Glucose and insulin were higher in the test group at 40 and 60
minutes post exercise. Testosterone to cortisol ratio was higher at 120
minutes in the test group, indicating anabolism. Fatigue at 120 mins
post-exercise was significantly reduced in the test group.

BCAAs Stimulate Protein Synthesis

Exercise
is well known to stimulate protein synthesis and therefore muscle
growth. An exciting discovery is that branched chain amino acids can
also stimulate protein synthesis, even without exercise! Protein
synthesis is thought to be activated by a process called phosphorylation
of certain protein enzymes. Exercise and BCAAs can stimulate some of
the same enzymes; however, BCAAs can also potentiate the activity of the
enzymes activated by exercise as well as activate other enzymes that
are not stimulated by exercise. One study found that leg exercise, when
accompanied by BCAA supplementation, activated the enzyme p70(S6k) up
to 30-fold in exercising muscle and up to 16-fold even in muscles that
were not exercising! The peak activity of these enzymes appears to be
between 30-120 minutes post-exercise. One session of exercise did not
affect this specific enzyme at all without BCAA supplementation.

Muscle Preservation and Repair

BCAAs
have also showed beneficial effects in strength training, including
reducing muscle soreness and fatigue and assisting in strength gains.
One study showed that consuming a BCAA drink 15 minutes prior to
performing repetitive squat exercises shortened the period of peak
delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) from days 2 and 3 to only day 2 in
the test group, and also lowered the intensity of muscle soreness for 4
days after exercise, particularly in females. There was also a tendency
toward less muscle fatigue immediately post-exercise and in the 4 days
afterward. Another study administered 4g of leucine per day during a
12-wk strength training program in untrained males. In this study, the
test group experienced significantly greater strength gains compared to
the placebo group in all 8 exercises, although only 5 were significantly
greater.

BCAAs may also be helpful in post-exercise recovery in
endurance athletes, better preparing them for a good subsequent
performance. One study administered a leucine-rich protein and
carbohydrate-rich drink to trained endurance cyclists and found a small
improvement in a subsequent bout of high-intensity cycling, reduced
overall fatigue, and lower plasma CK levels, possibly indicating reduced
muscle damage or faster muscle repair.

Central Factors Related to Fatigue and Mood

Because
BCAAs have been found to help reduce perceived overall fatigue, one
theory suggests that they may have central effects in the brain on
fatigue and mood. One study examined the effects of BCAA as an adjunct
treatment for acute mania. Findings suggested that BCAAs may help
control manic episodes, probably by competing with tyrosine for uptake
into the brain thereby limiting dopamine synthesis. Even more concrete
was that the treatment outcomes continued on a positive trend a week
after ending the treatment in the BCAA group while the placebo group
displayed a regressive trend.

Market Trends

Many
people are concerned with maintaining muscle mass and decreasing
recovery time periods from exercise, therefore they turn to amino acid
supplements to provide their body with an additional energy source.

AOR Advantage

AOR’s
BCAA supplement offers a convenient way to get valuable branch chained
amino acids into the diet; these are unique in that they are metabolized
mainly in the muscle, and more specifically in the mitochondria, while
most other amino acids are metabolized in the liver.

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